Let Sleeping Immortals Lie
by Net Girl
Summary: Crossover Buffy: The Vampire Slayer & Xena: Warrior Princess. Callisto teams up with Spike & Dru to kill Buffy.


Rating: PG-13--mild violence. Spoilers: Many for both shows, mostly seasons one & two. Category: Crossover Summary: In a desperate move to get rid of Buffy and the Gang for good, Spike and Drusilla release an ancient, mythical evil. But Callisto turns out to be more trouble than *anyone* expected. 

Disclaimer: All Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions. All Xena characters belong to Robert Tapert, Sam Raimi, Renaissance Pictures and MCA/Universal. They are used without permission but no infringement is intended. Please don't sue me. Thank you. 

Author's Notes: The Buffy part of the story takes place during season three, but Spike and Drusilla are still around. This is fan fic, I can do anything I want. For X: WP, pretend everything after the "Surprise" episode on Hercules: TLJ and that the "A Necessary Evil" episode on X: WP never happened. After all, those are only TV shows. The Scrolls are the thing. Thanks. 

Please send any and all commentary to NetGrlWill@aol.com. All flames are read, laughed at then deleted with extreme prejudice. 

"....this obsession is my depression and this depression is my release and my release will never cease..." -- "Head", Tin Star. 

Let Sleeping Immortals Lie By Teresa Owens 

Spike paced around his mansion, grumbling. It was the regular routine for him now, the cause always the same - The Slayer, Buffy Summers. The girl and her band of buddies always managed to thwart his attempts to destroy them. She'd defeated a full on attack at her parent/teacher night and the Order of Taraka, to name a few. Now, he tried to come up with something new to throw at the Slayer. Killing her had become quite the obsession. 

Drusilla wandered into the room, dancing around the other vampires who worked for them. She waltzed up to Spike, grinning. "I saw something so very lovely," she said as she put her arms around him. "A goddess of death is coming to our aid. She will bring more destruction than anyone could ever imagine!" 

"Goddess of death?" Spike repeated. Drusilla's interpretations of her visions were always a riddle. Some were easier to solve than others, but this 'goddess of death' was a new one on him. 

Drusilla nodded as Nathan, one of the vampires Spike relied upon to do research, approached them. Nathan held a book in his hands. 

"I found something," Nathan said as he looked up to Spike. He could tell Spike wasn't pleased with the interruption. "I think...this may be something we could be able to use against the Slayer," he went on, nodding to his book. 

Spike lifted the book so he could read the title. He slid his gaze up to Nathan. "Is this some sort of joke? *The Complete Collection of the Xena Scrolls*?" he said. "You're well aware these are the myths they based that campy TV series on, aren't you?" 

Nathan nodded. "Well, yes, I am," he replied. "But evidence to support the authenticity of the stories contained in the Scrolls has been mounting for years -" He shut his mouth when he saw the bored look on Spike's face. 

"Listen to him," Drusilla said. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to smile. "The goddess speaks to me from these pages." She opened her eyes and placed her hand on the open book. "Callisto." 

"Yes, that's exactly the story I wanted to tell you," Nathan said looking from Drusilla to Spike. He knew Spike wasn't eager to hear this, and probably wouldn't be taking him seriously if not for Drusilla's asking him to. He cleared his throat. He hadn't read the entire installment on Callisto, but from what he read, she could prove useful. 

"Let's hear it, then, Nathan," Spike impatiently said. 

"Callisto was the arch-nemesis of Xena, a deadly adversary whose hatred for Xena was quite intense," Nathan explained, glancing from the book to Spike. "Years before Xena switched to the side of good, she'd burned Callisto's village of Cirra, killing almost everyone. Callisto survived but her mother and sister were burned alive. She vowed vengeance on Xena..." He paused when he looked at Spike. "But that's not really the point, is it?" 

"For your sake, I hope there's more," Spike answered. 

Nathan flipped the page then went on. "Basically, through run-ins with Xena and Hercules, Callisto became immortal." He paused when Drusilla giggled. "And, uh...yes, she was left in the rubble of a temple, by Hercules, shortly after becoming immortal." 

"She'll kill them all!" Drusilla declared as she looked up to Spike. "She is so very near." 

"There...there are very detailed references to the location of this cavern," Nathan went on, flipping through the pages. "I have a few friends in Greece I can...." His words trailed off as he stared at the book. 

"Well?" Spike asked when Nathan didn't continue. "What is it?" 

Nathan swallowed hard then raised up his eyes to Spike. "It's...I...I...well, you know..." His hands began to shake, but he quickly steadied them. "I...missed something." 

Spike took a step forward. "You  something?" he asked, trying to keep his anger restrained. When Nathan nodded, Spike inquired, "What exactly did you miss?" 

Nathan hugged the book close to him. "Like I said before, I hadn't read the entire story," he replied. "According to this, Athena took Callisto from the temple rubble and ...and enchanted her into a slab of stone." His voice lowered to a whisper. "No one knows of its whereabouts." 

"No one knows of its whereabouts?" Spike snatched the book from Nathan then hit him over the head with it. "You waste my time with these stories?" 

Nathan rubbed his head as he backed away from Spike. He gasped when Spike picked up the nearest available weapon, in this case a pencil Nathan had been using to mark passages. "I'm sorry!" he said as advanced on him. 

Drusilla gently took hold of Spike's arm, stopping him. She placed her other hand on his cheek. "She's closer than you think, Spike," she whispered. She leaned up to him. "She stands over the graves of many." 

Nathan's eyes nervously flicked from Spike to Drusilla. He watched Drusilla as she twirled around Spike. 

"She has wings!" Drusilla sang out as she raised up her arms. Her dress fluttered about as she spun. "Wings...like an angel." 

"She stands over the graves of many," Spike said as Drusilla ceased in her spinning. He looked at her. "One of the statues in one of the cemeteries?" A wicked smiled spread across Drusilla's face. She nodded in confirmation. "You'll have to be a bit more specific, pet," he told her. "There are hundreds of bloody statues in these cemeteries." 

Drusilla closed her eyes, concentrating hard on the visions that flooded her mind. "Masters," she murmured. "She stands over the body of Masters." 

"What does that mean?" Spike looked at Nathan. 

"I don't have a clue," Nathan replied, shrugging. 

"It's gotta be Randall Masters," said another vampire, stepping forward. "He was a rich guy who taught Ancient Greek Mythology at some university back in the '10s and '20s." 

"Go on, Cyril," Spike said. 

"It was big news around here when he brought a piece of stone all the way from Greece. He wanted to oversee the making of his own headstone," Cyril continued. "Big news because he'd wanted to have the stone fashioned into some Greek goddess, but the church wouldn't allow it. He had to go with something more...traditional. He's buried over at the main Sunnydale cemetery." 

Spike smiled, pleased with this new information. Perhaps these silly myths would pan out after all. It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look. 

"Thank you, Cyril," Spike said. "You're a well of useful information." He looked at Nathan and handed the book to him. "While you are not." 

"I'm sorry, I -" Nathan's words caught in his throat as he felt something stab him in the chest. He looked down to the pencil protruding from him. "Uh oh." He disintegrated. 

Spike dusted off his clothes then looked to Cyril. "Now...exactly where do find this Masters?" 

Sunnydale Cemetery 

Cyril led Spike, Drusilla and about six other vampires through the first cemetery to be established in Sunnydale. "It's right over here," he said to Spike, pointing to the right. 

Spike kept one eye on Cyril and the other out for the Slayer. She favored patrolling the cemeteries, and he didn't want to stumble across her right then. 

"Here it is." Cyril stopped by one of the statues. "Old Randall Masters." 

The life-size statue was a grayish color. The angel stood over the grave of Randall Masters, palms together in prayer, head bowed and eyes closed with a sad expression on its face. The wings were neatly folded behind it. At the base of the statue, carved into the stone, was: Randall Everett Masters. Born April 14, 1871. Died October 29, 1939. 

"It's pretty!" Drusilla said as she circled the statue. Her eyes were wide with wonder as she stared up at it. 

"So..." Spike looked over to Cyril. "How do we get her out?" 

Cyril shrugged. "The other guy probably knew, but then, you killed him." 

Spike seized the vampire by the back of his coat and pulled him closer. "Are you criticizing me?" he snarled. 

"No, sir, absolutely not!" Cyril exclaimed, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean anything by it!" 

"Shhh!" Drusilla hissed at them. When Spike and Cyril looked at her, she leaned over to the statue, pressing her ear to the body. "She speaks to me." A pause. "Great evil lies within." 

Spike pushed Cyril away as he came over to the statue. "Does it tell you how to get this evil out?" he asked. 

Drusilla listened to the statue then she waved a hand for Spike to move back. She placed both hands on the statue then gave it a heft shove. The statue wobbled from side to side, scraping loudly against its stone base, before finally collapsing to the ground on its side. A large crack zipped up the front of it. A low rumbled followed. She grinned as she took a few steps back from the fallen statue. 

"Here comes trouble!" she announced. 

The stone angel broke apart as a hand wearing a black gauntlet punched through the body. The fingers of the hand flexed as the rest of the statue crumbled apart. Callisto, covered in gray dust, sat up as she brushed off the smaller piece of rock. She tossed back her hair revealing a scar that stretched from above her right eye down to the center of her left cheek. 

"Oh!" the black leather clad warrior sighed as she rose to her feet. She raised her arms up, stretching. More rubble tumbled off of her. "It's so good to be free!" She lowered her arms, brushing herself off. "Ages and ages of being stuck in there..." Her words trailed off when she saw a band of people gawking at her. 

Drusilla clapped her hands together. "She's here!" she happily said as she joined Spike. 

"Who are you?" Callisto demanded. 

Spike shook his head as he gave Callisto the once over. "I'm not so sure, pet," he told Drusilla. 

"Who are you?" Callisto asked again. She looked up to the sky then to the rest of her surroundings. This surely couldn't be Greece, nothing felt like her homeland. Callisto knew many years had passed. Athena had not taken away consciousness when she'd placed Callisto in the stone. 

"We're the ones who set you free," Spike replied as he put an arm around Drusilla's waist. 

Callisto lowered her eyes from the sky and settled her gaze on Spike. "I appreciate it," she told him. "Two millennia trapped inside a rock is enough to drive a person crazy." She grinned. "But since I already was...no big deal." 

"There's a reason we let you out," Spike went on as he watched Callisto continue to dust herself off. 

Callisto sighed as she stood straight. "Oh! There's *always* a reason! Nobody ever sets psychopaths free out of the kindness of their hearts anymore." She glared at him. "You can save your breath, I'm done with that helping others crap. I'm free again and I plan to have a lot of fun." 

Drusilla tugged on Spike's arm as Callisto started to walk away. "Don't let her go!" 

Three of the vampires attacked Callisto before Spike could say anything. One roared loudly as it headed for the warrior. Callisto drew her sword from he sheath strapped to her back and whirled around. Her sword neatly separated the head from the vampire's body. The vampire exploded into ash that fell into a pile at Callisto's feet. 

Vampires! Callisto though, her eyes transfixed on the dust. While Callisto was distracted another vampire came up behind her then whipped its nails across her lower back. 

"Ouch!" Callisto yelped as her back automatically closed the wounds. She turned around to face off with the surprised vampire. "Don't do that!" 

"You didn't even bleed!" the vampire exclaimed. 

"I'm immortal, you idiot!" she snapped then kicked it in the gut. "I don't bleed!" With one swift motion, she brought her sword around and beheaded the second vampire. 

"I'll take *your* head off, bitch!" yelled the last vampire. It kicked Callisto in the upper back, knocking her forward. "Let's see how well you fight without one!" 

Callisto spun around. The vampire brought up its leg to kick her again, but she caught its ankle. She wickedly grinned then flipped the vampire onto its back. Grasping her sword in both hands, she raised it above her head where it froze. Slowly, she put her sword back in the sheath. 

"Go on! Go!" she yelled at the vampire. She took in a few deep breaths as the vampire scrambled back to the others. Was I really doing that? she wondered. For a moment, the Slayer training had completely taken over. All the skills she'd honed to kill Xena were killing vampires instead. 

"Well, two millennia encased in stone hasn't destroyed your fighting capabilities," Spike said, pleased. 

Callisto narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you vampires want from me?" 

"You know what we are?" he asked, rather surprised. 

"Of course, you moron," she snapped in reply. "Only vampires do that!" She waved a hand at the piles of dust. "And the only problem vampires could have -" She paused. "Would be a Slayer." She snorted. "Sorry, pal, not interested."' 

As Callisto turned to walk away, Spike called out, "Not even if the Slayer happened to be a direct descendant of Xena?" 

Callisto froze in her tracks. Her body tensed up with hatred upon hearing Xena's name. She slowly turned around focusing her attention on Spike who wore a smile on his face. "A direct descendant of Xena is in this village?" she asked as she came towards him. 

"And a bloody pain she is, too," Spike replied. "I don't think the Slayer, Buffy, knows the meaning of the word 'die'." 

Callisto scowled. "Must be inherited." 

"She continuously foils my plans for Sunnyhell," Spike went on. "She and those annoying friends of hers." 

Callisto nodded, sympathetic. "I know the feeling," she told him. "I remember the time I had the perfect plan to frame Xena for the murder of the Oracle of Delphi. She and that brat, Gabrielle, screw it up." She looked back to Spike. "A Slayer, huh? That'll only make this *more* fun!" 

Cyril tapped Spike on the shoulder. "I didn't know the Slayer was a direct descendant of Xena," he whispered. 

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't," Spike hissed in replied. "Callisto doesn't know that. She only knows what we tell her." He shoved Cyril back. "So shut up." 

Callisto drew her sword then ran her finger over the blade. "Tell me more about this...Buffy and her friend," she said. She smiled as she shifted her gaze to the vampires. "I want to know *all* about her." 

Sunnydale High School Library Next Day-Afternoon 

Buffy Summers pushed open the library doors. She held up her hands when her Watcher, Rupert Giles, came out of his office. "Just let me say, I'm sorry," she said. She saw the displeased expression on his face. "Oh, come on, Giles! It's Saturday! Can't you cut me a little slack?" 

Giles only walked out of the office doorway, the look still firmly in place. 

"I wanted to do girly things today," she told him. "Willow and I went to the mall." She followed him to the table. "Look, I was thinking of you while I was there." She modeled a new pair of black workout pants and a light blue T-shirt. "See? New training clothes!" 

"Did you run into anything out of the ordinary on patrol last night?" Giles asked as he picked up a copy of the Sunnydale Gazette. 

Buffy stopped modeling her new clothes and raised an eyebrow at Giles. "I'm assuming the 'ordinary' would be vampires and/or other creatures and icky things puked out by the Hellmouth?" One look from Giles and she replied, "No. Nothing! Geez." 

Giles laid the paper down and motioned for Buffy to come over. "Seems...uh...one of the statues in Sunnydale's oldest cemetery was vandalized last night," he explained. "Randall Masters' headstone was completely demolished." 

Buffy took a step back. "I wasn't even *in* the area of that cemetery last night, Giles," she quickly replied. 

"I wasn't implying you were responsible for the damage, Buffy," Giles assured her. He looked at the photo in the paper. "This sort of thing, though, it's...rather odd." 

Buffy shrugged. "Nothing unusual about kids doing dumb stuff like that," she said. "With farm kids it's cow tipping. With Sunnydale kids...headstone tipping." She let out a breath when Giles looked up at her. "Ok, it *is* a little odd, but I don't think it's a sign of Armageddon, Giles." 

"There had to be a reason behind choosing this particular statue," Giles said as he stared at the photo. 

Buffy shook her head. "Oh, no. You have that 'This-is-fascinating-I'm-gonna- do-boring-research-on-it' look on your face." She pointed to the picture. "Sometimes a broken headstone is just a broken headstone." 

Giles considered Buffy's remark. "True," he answered. "But I'll...I'll feel more at ease...knowing for sure." 

"You know, Giles, four out of five psychologists agree that getting a life makes one a very happy person," Buffy said. She patted him on the shoulder. "Don't obsess over stuff so much." 

"I'm not being obsessive," he defensively replied. "I'm merely exercising a bit of caution." 

"You say 'potato', I say 'obsessive-compulsive behavior'," she said with a shrug. "Look, I'm gonna do a few laps outside since it's such a lovely day, and it's Saturday and all growing Slayers need plenty of sun." 

"Do be careful out there!" Giles called as Buffy walked towards the doors. "The machinery is still out in the quad. Y-you know, because of...of the -" 

"Yeah, yeah," Buffy said, nodding. "How was I supposed to know that last demon was gonna pull a Megalon on us and drill up the quad with his funky hands? I'll watch out for the cement truck!" 

"And the rather large hole, too," Giles added as Buffy left. 

Thirty minutes later Buffy, sweat pouring down her forehead and neck, stumbled into the library. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as she wiped her arm over her forehead. "No more outside for me. I'll stick to the nice air-conditioned building. What did you find out?" 

Giles glanced up from his book. "Nothing much really," he replied. He was surprised when Buffy pulled the kerchief from his jacket. 

"See? Overreacting," Buffy told him. She sat down across from him, wiping the sweat off with the kerchief. She noticed the way Giles looked at her. "What?" 

He shook his head a little then relayed what he'd found out about Randall Masters to her. It was pretty much the same story Cyril had told. 

Buffy placed the kerchief on the table. "Nothing paranormal is happening here, Giles." 

"I'm not so certain," he said as he studied the photo in the paper. "I'm rather curious about this...this, uh, imported Greek stone aspect. I...I seem to recall a myth -" 

Buffy sighed and got to her feet. "If we're not gonna do this work out today, Giles, I'm going over to Willow's house. Have fun with your books." She paused on her way out. "Try to relax once in awhile!" she added then left the library. 

Evening 

Callisto sat in front of a fire she'd built inside Spike's hideout. It's not that she needed one to keep warm or frighten away animals. The beautiful yellow flames brought a sense of comfort to her. She slid the sharpening stone down her blade then blew lightly on it. She smiled at the glimmering blade. 

These vampires - Spike and Drusilla - were an evil pair but Callisto couldn't hold that against them. Vampires were nothing but evil, they couldn't help it. She wasn't complaining though. They were into murder and mayhem with only one drawback - single-mindedness. Kill the Slayer. That was the last thing on Callisto's mind, she intended to finish with Buffy what she'd started with Xena all those years ago... 

Callisto's body tensed up when she sensed the presence of vampires in the room. She slyly smiled as she ran the sharpening stone down the blade of her sword. She raised up her sword, examining it. 

"It's amazing how dull a sword becomes when it's not used for a few thousand years," she remarked. She slid the fingers of her left hand down the blade. "I wonder how sharp it is now?" She looked over her shoulder to Drusilla and Spike. "Either of you two care to volunteer to help me find out?" 

Spike found himself rattled by Callisto's comment. And no one ever rattled him. It was probably that gleam of madness in her eyes. Then, of course, there was the fact she was a human and not some demon from the depths of Hell. 

"What's with the fire?" Spiked asked, shifting his gaze to the dancing flames. "What, are you tryin' to burn the whole bloody place down?" 

"Oh...yes, that's right," Callisto said, her smile growing wider. "You don't like fire, do you?" 

She reached her left arm out, submerging it in the flames. After a moment, she brought her charred limb out, flexing her fingers. Her immortal body repaired the arm in a matter of seconds. 

"I adore fire," she went on as she stood up. She faced the vampires. "It's a reminder." A distant expression crossed her face. "Xena destroyed my village with fire, burned my mother and sister alive with it, Hercules scarred me with it. Yes...fire is my reminder." 

Spike watched Callisto silently. This woman was more off her rocker than Drusilla. 

Callisto blinked as she came out of her daze. "When can I see this descendant of Xena's?" she asked. 

"She'll be on one of her patrols tonight," Spike replied. 

"Then you can kill her," Drusilla added. She cuddled up next to Spike. "Make the nasty Slayer go away." 

Callisto laughed. "Oh, please! You honestly didn't conjure up little old *me* just to *kill* a descendant of Xena's?" She laughed hysterically. 

"Everything we've tried has failed," Spike snapped as Callisto continued to laugh. "And this Slayer has those friends I mentioned earlier. The ones who devote themselves to helping her make my existence hell." 

"Well, if this Buffy is anything like Xena, she'll sacrifice herself for her friends," Callisto said. She brought up her sword. "I've had plenty of practice torturing Xena's friends." 

Spike took a few steps towards Callisto. "Hey, look here. We didn't set you free so you could indulge yourself with stupid games. You're here to kill the Slayer." 

Callisto's eyebrows arched in amusement. "You're ordering me around?" she said then snorted. 

"You owe your freedom to us!" Spike snapped, pointing a finger at her. 

Callisto grabbed Spike by the shirt, pulled him next to her then placed her blade to his throat. Drusilla move to attack Callisto from behind. She was propelled backwards by a nasty kick from Callisto. 

"Drusilla!" Spike exclaimed as she collapsed to the floor. He flinched when Callisto's grip tightened and her sword dug deeper into his neck. 

"I owe you *nothing*!" Callisto hissed. She stared into Spike's eyes. "Do you have *any* idea what sort of evil you've turned loose?" Spike remained silent. "I am immortal, I'm crazy and I'm generally not happy with anyone - living or undead. There are a few reasons I haven't killed the both of you. Most importantly, you know who the Slayer is, but...you could be useful afterwards." She let go of him. 

Spike went over to help Drusilla to her feet. "Are you all right, pet?" he asked as he held her close. 

Callisto placed her sword in the sheath then looked at the two. "Now...are we done with all this silly posturing?" she asked. 

"Poor dear," Drusilla said as she touched Spike's neck. She showed him her fingers stained with his blood. "She hurt you." 

"The sun has set," Callisto said. She looked at the vampires. "Time for you to show me your problem." 

The Bronze 

"Giles is getting way too paranoid," Buffy said to Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. They all sat around a table at the only club in Sunnydale - The Bronze. "I don't get the man sometimes." She took a sip of her Coke. "He wasted an entire Saturday." 

Willow shrugged. "I have to stick with Giles on this one," she replied. "Hate to be Cliche' Girl, but better safe than sorry." 

Buffy sighed and nodded. "Yeah, but Giles is a grown-up in dire need of fun. He's been in this town too long." 

"Books are his fun," Xander said. "The guy's a librarian by day, Watcher by night. That's probably more fun than he can handle. Giles might be on the verge of fun overload." 

"I just worry about him," Buffy replied. She glanced at her watch then groaned. "And speaking of fun, time to patrol." 

"A little early for a patrol, isn't it?" Willow asked, looking at her own watch. 

Buffy got up from her chair. "I told Giles I'd meet him for a workout tomorrow morning," she answered. "He wasn't too crazy about me going to the mall today." 

"Well, stop by my house in the morning," Willow said. "After your workout we'll go to a movie or something." She patted Xander on the shoulder. "And Xander'll be there, too." 

Xander placed a hand over his heart. "I'm not a morning person but I'll eventually get there." 

"Sounds great," Buffy said then smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow." She waved to her friends then left the Bronze. Outside, Buffy slowed down as she neared the entrance to the side alley of the Bronze. She had the eerie feeling someone was watching her. She shook it off then continued on her way. 

Callisto stepped out of the shadows, a smile on her face as she watched Buffy walk away. she glanced over at Spike just beside her. "That is the girl giving you all your trouble?" She laughed. 

Spike resisted his automatic urge to pound someone laughing at him. That approach was stupid against an immortal. "She's a lot tougher than she looks," he grumbled. 

"Or you're a lot wimpier than you look," Callisto snorted, turning to him. 

"Well, you're a lot of talk, luv," he said. "Why don't you see how you size up against the great Slayer? Or are you afraid?" 

Callisto smiled. She knew what Spike was trying to do, but thousand years of entrapment taught her patience. Much patience. "In due time, dear," she said. "I'm not quite convinced you're telling me the truth about this Buffy being a direct descendant of Xena and all." She looked in the direction Buffy had gone. "I want to see her fight. Only that will convince me if you're lying or not, Spike. If I discover you're not lying, I'll happily dispose of the girl and all connected to her." 

"And if I am?" Spike asked. 

Callisto grinned as she pinched his cheek. "Wouldn't *you* like to know?" She laughed as Spike put a hand to his cheek. "I prefer to keep that a surprise." She walked out of the alley. Spike followed her, wondering how Buffy's fighting style would compare to Xena's. 

It didn't take Spike and Callisto long to find Buffy. The Slayer was inside a nearby park having it out with two rather nasty vampires. Callisto moved behind some bushes, peeking through them to study the young Slayer. 

She's very good, Callisto thought when she saw Buffy use a spinning hook kick to being down one of the vamps. As the fight continued, Callisto's mind traveled back in time...back when she trained for this very job - vampire Slayer. 

***** 

"Rrrah!" 

Callisto brought her sword around. The tip of the blade nicked the upper arm of Kefira, her Watcher. If Kefira hadn't been so quick on the reflex, she most certainly would've lost an arm. 

"Sorry!" Callisto exclaimed when she realized she'd hurt the young Egyptian woman. She lowered her sword as she walked over to Kefira. "Are you all right?" 

Kefira's fingers brushed over the minor wound. "It is nothing," she said then looked at Callisto. "I've had much worse when I was a guard at the Temple of Isis." She smiled weakly. 

Callisto really liked Kefira. Well, she hadn't liked her much when they first met. It was only a few months after Cirra was destroyed and she hadn't liked anybody back then. 

Kefira sighed as she sat down on a fallen tree trunk. Her blue boots peeked out from underneath her equally blue skirt that was elaborately decorated with bright yellow sun disks. She propped her sword beside her then picked up one of her saddlebags. 

"You were thinking of her again," she said. After she pulled off one of her yellow gloves, Kefira pulled out a piece of cloth to use as a bandage. "Don't lie, Callisto, because I know the look you get when you do." 

Callisto sat down beside Kefira. In the 10 winters Callisto had lived and trained with Kefira, Callisto was never able to hide anything from her. Especially when it concerned her hatred for Xena. 

"Yes, I was," she quietly replied. 

"I have warned you about that," Kefira said as she wrapped the cloth around her arm. She slung the long, thick braid she kept her jet back hair in over her shoulder. "Thinking of Xena only stirs up your emotions. They cloud your judgement, impede your fighting skills." 

"I try, Kefira," Callisto told her. "But my entire family is gone because of her." Her eyes darkened for a moment. She sighed. "Before you came along, I was pretty much all alone." She drove her sword into the ground. "It's hard to forget something like that, the memories, the screams haunt me." 

"Allowing rage to rule you doesn't help either," Kefira admonished. She finished tying her bandage then affixed her coffee-colored eyes on Callisto. "You must think of your future, not your past. Being Slayer - " 

"Is my destiny," Callisto finished for her. "I know. From day one, you never let me forget that." 

She remembered Kefira showing up on the doorstep of the family who had taken her in. The Watcher was relieved that Callisto had not perished in the destruction of Cirra. But what Kefira found was not a young girl eager to pursue her destiny, but one carrying endless hate and pain. 

"I do hope you remember what all your training is for," Kefira said, bringing the girl out of her thoughts. "When you are called, you must be ready. Do you understand?" 

Callisto nodded. "Yes, I do." 

Kefira picked up her sword then directed Callisto's attention to the four ankhs etched into the upper portion of the blade near the hilt. 

"Life, Callisto, goes on," she said. She brushed her fingers over the blade. "It is not easy, but it does go on." 

Callisto noticed this look many times on Kefira's face, but it was always when Kefira would stare upon her sword. It was a lovely sword with a finely polished blade and a golden hilt that sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. 

"How....How did you get this job, anyway?" she asked. She couldn't believe that in all their time together she'd never asked Kefira that basic question. 

Kefira blinked then looked over at Callisto. "How did I become a Watcher?" she said. 

"Yeah. You never talk about it," Callisto replied. She frowned. "Or is that another Council rule: You cannot discuss your past with your Slayer?" 

Kefira attempted a smile then she shook her head. "No, it is not a Council rule," she answered. "I just....never thought to tell you. That was not the reason I was sent to you." 

"Well, I was going to say, if it *was* a rule, the Council already has too many." She paused, watching Kefira brush a bit of dirt off of her sleeveless blue halter-top. "So....how *did* you become a Watcher?" 

Kefira laid her sword across her lap as she brought out a rag from her saddlebag. Gently, she caressed the blade with it. 

"An encounter, not unlike most of the Watchers, with a vampire," she softly replied. She glanced at Callisto. "Or *vampires* in my case, I should say." 

Callisto waited for Kefira to continue with the story. When the Watcher only polished up her sword, she asked, "Well?" Kefira looked at her. "Aren't you gonna tell me the whole story?" 

Kefira stopped polishing her sword as her eyes lowered to the ground. "It was so long ago...." Her words trailed off. She let out a breath. "It was so very long ago," she softly continued. "A night that started out like so many others. The other guards of Isis' temple and I had no idea what evils lurked in the shadows...until *they* came." 

"Who?" Callisto asked in a whisper. 

"Vampires. About a dozen of them," Kefira answered. Her eyes squinted as she recalled the past. "They stormed our quiet temple, killing the priests. They tore the place apart. We...we...tried to fight them off but we didn't know what we were dealing with. You shoved your sword into one and it would just....*laugh* at you. We believed they were minions of Seth, for he hated our goddess, Isis." She paused as a distant expression washed over her face. "I...I watched so many innocent people be slaughtered. And I fought *so hard* to protect the priests and my fellow guards and friends. These vampires were so strong. I managed to hack off a limb here and there, but it wasn't any use." 

Callisto gazed upon Kefira with empathy. She remained quiet when the woman went on with her story. 

"Once they had killed all of the priests and almost all of the guards, they...they used the torches to set fire to the temple." She shook her head, confused. "I...I do not know *why* they did that. There was no need and vampires hate fire as it is. I was...the only guard left alive, but I was wounded." Her fingers brushed across her left side. "I thought it was over for me so I gave up. I was content to die in the fire and be destroyed with the temple I protected for so long. The vampires made their escape but, soon, ran back in, despite the now raging fire." 

Callisto shifted uncomfortably. Memories from her own past flashed through her mind: the fire, the screams of her mother and sister as they slowly burned to death... 

"I could not figure out why they would come back," Kefira went on. "And then...I saw her emerge from the smoke and the flames: a mighty figure with pale skin and flowing red hair. She held a sword in one hand and a stake in the other. With skill unlike any for a girl her age, she fought two of the vampires, easily decapitating them both. I...I was so...in *awe*, I could not imagine who she could be. She came over to me, her clear blue eyes filled with such concern. My throat sore and my voice hoarse from the smoke, I asked her who she was. Sh-she smiled...and said she was 'the Slayer'. She helped me up and told me to get out, she would hold them back." 

Callisto felt a lump forming in her throat. She watched tears well up in Kefira's eyes. Never had she seen her Watcher like this. Never. She placed a hand on one of Kefira's. 

Kefira sniffled. "I picked up my sword and hobbled out of the burning temple," she said. "When I was outside, I turned to look back." She slowly shook her head. The tears splashed on her sword blade. "I remember seeing the girl through the raging flames, fighting all of those vampires. And she continued to fight so valiantly until...until the structure finally collapsed upon them. She gave up her life in order for me to escape." She closed her eyes tight, tears rolled down her checks. She looked to Callisto as she wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. "And I never even knew her name. It wasn't long after that the Council, along with that Slayer's Watcher, came to me about becoming a Watcher. I felt I owed it to that girl, I hoped to repay her somehow by helping in the war against the evil she died fighting." 

Part of Callisto wished she hadn't heard this story, but another part wasn't. 

"You seek your vengeance on those who destroyed your temple, killed your priests and your friends," she told Kefira. 

Kefira shook her head. "No. There is a difference between vengeance and honoring a debt. Those who murdered my friends, they were delivered to justice. I honor a debt to the Slayer who saved my life, by dedicating my life...to you, Callisto." 

A silence fell between the two. 

Callisto still thought it was vengeance, no matter what words Kefira used. 

Kefira let out a long sigh as she placed her sword in its sheath. She stood up. "I could really use something to drink right now," she said. "I...I think I saw a tavern in the last town." 

****** 

The sound of a vampire's roar as it was staked drew Callisto out of her memories. She blinked a few times, focusing back on Buffy. The Slayer had already disposed of both vampires. Callisto was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she'd not paid attention to the fight. 

Oh well, she finally thought. Xena's descendant or not, killing the Slayer will be fun. I've always hated goody-goodies trying to save the world. 

Callisto looked over to Spike, a twinkle in her eyes. "I'd like to cut all her friends into little pieces while she watches," she told him. "Then slice open her Watcher and bathe her in his blood." She grinned. "Won't that be fun?" 

"No," Spike flatly replied. "I rather think bathing in the *Slayer's* blood would be quite fun." 

Callisto clicked her tongue as she shook her head. "That's your problem, too narrow-minded," she said. "Don't you believe in having fun? Taking a little pride in your work? It's just 'Let's kill the Slayer' with you. Where's the fun in that?" Before Spike could protest she added, "Don't worry about anything. I'm immortal! Nothing can stop me!" 

I wouldn't be so sure about that, Spike thought. 

Callisto took in a deep breath as she looked around. "This place grows on you," she went on. She looked at Spike. "I sort of like you and your friend." She gave Spike a slap on the back. "You play this right and you could be the one to drain the Slayer's blood." 

Spike rubbed his back where Callisto had slapped him and scowled. He wished he hadn't killed Nathan now. He'd love to give that bastard a slow and painful death for failing to mention Callisto was just another version of Angelus. 

Callisto took Spike by the coat as she drew her sword. She looked over the newly sharpened blade then over to Spike. "I still don't know how sharp this is." She spotted a young teenage girl about her size strolling up the sidewalk. "Let's go kill somebody and find out." 

Next Morning 

Callisto leaned over, scratching her legs. These things called jeans were tight and itchy as all Hades. The clothes of this time were more of a nuisance than anything, but she had to fit in with the locals during the day. 

"I'll see you later, Mom!" called Buffy's voice. 

Callisto forgot about her irritating apparel and stood up. She watched Buffy wave as the girl walked up the sidewalk. She joined a red haired girl dressed in yellow overalls - Willow Rosenberg. 

"Call if you're going to be late!" called a different voice from the house. 

Callisto switched her gaze to Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother. The woman smiled as she waved a good-bye to both girls. 

"Mother," Callisto whispered, her chest tightening. Her hands went to her mouth as she gasped. No, it couldn't be her mother, but Joyce Summers was a dead ringer for her. 

"I will!" Buffy replied. 

Callisto sniffled, the sadness rushing away as she focused on the task at hand. From what Spike had told her, Joyce Summers was the Slayer's only family in this village. She had two friends she was almost never without - Willow and a boy named Xander Harris. No sign of the boy, but the day was young. 

The warrior followed Buffy and Willow at a distance. She could hear the two girls talking, but was unable to make out the words. They giggled and laughed at each other. Callisto was interested in seeing this Buffy's Watcher, Rupert Giles. What sort of Watcher allowed his Slayer to have friends? Kefira had been a very good Watcher in that respect. 

Buffy and Willow headed up the steps and into Sunnydale High School. Callisto kept her distance as she tailed them. Inside the school, she trailed after the sound of the girls' voices. She rounded a corner just in time to see the girls disappear into the library. She glanced up and down the hall, making sure no one else lingered about then went up the hall to the library doors. 

Callisto peered through the windows into the library. She saw the pretty little redhead sitting at a table flipping through a book. Buffy sat on the checkout counter as she listened to a bespectacled man in a boring suit talk about gravestones. She frowned and snorted. That was Rupert Giles? He most definitely wasn't the fighting type, he was a bookworm. How did Buffy get so skilled at combat with a geeky Watcher like that? 

Quickly, she ducked back from the window when Buffy looked her way. She sat down on the floor by the doors as more memories of Kefira flooded her mind. 

******* 

Callisto followed Kefira into the tavern. They rarely went into places like these. Kefira was particular with whom Callisto associated herself with. Quite a crowd was gathered in the little tavern, but all eyes were fixed on a certain area of the room. 

Kefira leaned on the bar as Callisto sat down on a stool. She pounded her hand on the counter to get the tavern owner's attention. "Could we get some water, please?" she asked motioning to Callisto then herself. 

The man nodded then filled the order. He plopped two cups of water on the counter. "Four dinars," he grumbled. 

Kefira's hand paused over her money pouch. "Four dinars for water?" she said. 

The man smiled as he gave Kefira the once over. "I'm sure we could work out a deal... if you don't like the price," he answered. The man tensed up when he felt a knife slip under his chin. 

"Look, fatso," Callisto snapped as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Either charge us what two cups of water are *really* worth or I'll get angry." She shoved the knife closer to his throat. "You don't want to make me angry, do you?" 

The man let out a breath then licked his lips. He looked over to Kefira. "On the house," he murmured. 

Callisto removed her knife from the man's throat. "See? That wasn't so hard." She picked up one of the cups and took a sip. "You may go now," she added when the man just stared at her. 

Kefira looked at Callisto with a mix of anger and disappointment on her face. "You did not need to do that," she said. "You must control your impulses, Callisto. Time and again, I've told you. By Osiris, it'll be the downfall of you one day." 

Callisto only lopsidedly grinned at her Watcher. The patrons of the tavern burst into applause. "I've got myself under control, Kefira," she said then took another sip of water. 

"Tell us another!" called one of the tavern patrons. 

"Yes, please!" chimed in a few others. 

The petite blonde peasant girl dressed in a baggy blue shirt and a long, tattered pink skirt, blushed at all of her applause. "All right!" she replied as she held her hands up. A quiet fell over her audience. Everyone watched the young bard. "How about....the story of 'Death In Chains', when Xena helped Hades free his sister, Celesta, from King Sisyphus?" 

The girl was very animated in telling the story of how she and Xena helped to free Celesta from King Sisyphus. The king did not want to die, so he captured Celesta with trickery when she came to claim him. The audience didn't move as the girl told how Celesta was chained to a chair, kept separate from her candle that burned lower and lower when she was not holding it. As long as she was detained, no one on earth could die. 

"Thousands upon thousands lay in their pain and suffering," the girl said, emotion in every word. "They begged for a death that would not come. But some....they valued this newfound immortality. Toxeus and his band of murderers, whom Xena had recently defeated, were spared death. And they intended to keep things that way!" 

Callisto's eyes never left the storyteller as the tale of Xena's selflessness and heroism in the face of such evil progressed. The more the audience gasped and cheered, the angrier Callisto became. 

"Sisyphus had accepted his fate and planned to set Celesta free." The girl jumped up from her chair, startling the people, as she yelled, "But Toxeus and his thugs stormed the castle! Xena battled the undead band with such bravery and skill, mere words can't even begin to describe it! Celesta's candle grew weaker...and weaker. If she was not set free soon, Death would cease to exist! The world would be damned to live forever!" 

The girl played out her words with actions. "Xena grabbed her ever present chakram. It sailed gracefully across the room like a bird gliding on the breeze. Her chakram cut through the chains that kept Celesta bound to the chair. Upon picking up her candle, Celesta was fully restored! And death came to the evil Toxeus and his men!" 

The tavern erupted into cheers and applause. Callisto growled as she hurled her cup away, shattering it against a wall. 

"Callisto!" Kefira called as the Slayer to be stormed out of the tavern. "Wait!" She ran out of the tavern. 

Callisto's face darkened with every step she took towards her horse. Xena...a hero! It wasn't fair! Why should Xena be cheered when the woman deserved to be hanged? 

"Callisto!" Kefira caught up with her. "Where are you going?" 

"To seek my vengeance on Xena," Callisto evenly replied as she stopped by her horse. "She is going to pay for what she did." 

Kefira stopped behind Callisto, sympathy on her face. "Callisto, it's hard on you. I know. But you are too important to the future of this world. Your training is not complete and you could be called at any moment!" 

"I don't care!" Callisto muttered in reply. She tightened the straps on her saddlebags. "Xena murders my entire family and now she thinks she can just walk away from all that without paying?" 

"That's in the past. So much has changed in 10 winters," Kefira said. She gently placed a hand on Callisto's shoulder. "You have a responsibility now, to yourself and to others. One day, you will be the Slayer. The one girl in all the world chosen to battle evil!" 

"I *am* battling evil," Callisto coolly replied. Her hand gripped the dagger clipped to her skirt. "And I have no more time to waste with this Slayer nonsense." 

Kefira blinked as her hand slipped from the girl's shoulder. "Callisto, what are you saying?" she asked. "You know the rule: A Slayer, nor a Slayer in training, is allowed to kill a human being." 

"She's a monster!" Callisto snapped. She pulled the dagger from its sheath. "And I'll do anything to destroy her." 

Kefira shook her head. This couldn't be happening. "She *is* human. If you kill her...then I must alert the Council." She felt the pain in her gut already. "They...they will terminate you." 

Callisto's mouth curled into a wicked smile. "I don't think you'll be telling the Council *any*thing!" 

She spun around and plunged her knife into the side of Kefira's neck. She grinned wider as her Watcher stared back at her in surprise. Kefira opened her mouth, but instead of words a well of blood poured out. Slowly, Kefira's life drained out of her. 

When the Watcher's body slipped off Callisto's knife, the girl stared at the body on the ground. Her eyes went from the body to the blood on her knife and hands. It had been so easy, the killing. And it felt...good. The powerlessness that plagued her since the day fire swept through Cirra disappeared in that moment. Through death, she had control again. And, soon, Xena would know who had the control. 

******* 

A single tear rolled down Callisto's cheek. She wiped it away, the sadness of Kefira's death subsiding as she got to her feet. Kefira's death was not Callisto's fault, she shouldn't have tried to stop her from going after Xena. Sniffling, she started up the hallway. 

Xander rounded the corner but immediately slowed down when a tall blonde girl caught his attention. Her hair fell over the left side of her face so he couldn't see her that well. 

Callisto glanced up to see Xander staring at her. The boy, she thought as she slowed down. A smile crept to her face as she stopped. Xander, too, stopped when the blonde turned around. As the girl walked towards him his face lit up in a smile. 

"Hello," Callisto greeted Xander. She tossed her hair back when she stopped in front of him, revealing her scarred face. 

Xander's smile disappeared when the girl's wild eyes met his. He took a step back but that was as far as he got. The last thing he remembered seeing before falling into darkness was Callisto's fist meeting his jaw. 

******** 

Callisto entered the main room of Spike's hideout carrying Xander's limp body over her right shoulder. Spike got up from the couch as Callisto placed Xander's unconscious body on it. 

"What the bloody hell is this?" Spike demanded holding out a hand to Xander. 

Callisto smiled as she patted Xander. "It's one of the Slayer's friends, bonehead," she said to Spike. 

"I know that! What did you bring him here for?" Spike snapped. He watched Callisto walk away from the couch. "This is only going to bring Buffy here. And her visits are *never* pleasant." 

Drusilla scooted over to Xander and took the boy's body into her arms. She cradled Xander and stroked his hair. "Let the mean old Slayer come," she said. "All she'll find is his drained body." 

Callisto whirled around as Drusilla morphed into her vampire face. "Ah! Ah! Ah!" she scolded as she stopped Drusilla from taking a bite out of Xander. She pulled the boy from the vampire's grasp. "No snacking on the hostage! A dead hostage is a useless hostage!" 

Drusilla's face shifted back to her a human one. She pouted and stomped a foot on the floor. "I only wanted a little taste." 

"Hey, I'm not running a delivery service," Callisto snapped. "Find your own food." 

"Don't worry, pet," Spike said as he sat next to Drusilla on the couch. "You'll eat soon enough. And you'll dine on the blood of the Slayer!" 

Near Dusk.... 

Xander's world swam into focus. The first thing he noticed was the throbbing pain in his jaw. That brought back the memories of the blonde with the wicked right cross. He tried to touch his jaw but his hands were stuck above his head. He raised up his eyes to find he was cuffed and chained to the metal piece holding up the fireplace mantel. 

"Aww, look who's awake." Xander gasped and tried to get away when he saw Drusilla kneel beside him. She smiled at him. "Would you like some of my tea?" she asked. 

Xander scooted away the best he could, but Spike came up on his other side. "Gah!" he cried out moving away from Spike. 

"Can't you see he's frightened of you, luv?" said Spike as he patted Xander on the head. 

Drusilla frowned. "You don't like my tea?" she asked Xander. 

"No!" Xander declared. He glanced up at Spike. "I love your tea! I'll love anything you want me to!" 

"Love," said Callisto's voice, disgusted. "That's such a strong word." 

Xander looked around the room. He saw the blonde from the school. She was dressed in black leather from head to toe with a dagger clipped to her waist and a sword hilt visible just over her right shoulder. 

Callisto carried a candle with her as she slowly approached Xander. "Love," she said again as she brushed her fingers through the candle's flame. "It's a word that conveys the deepest of human emotions. It boggles me how loosely people throw it around." She tipped the candle allowing the hot candle wax to drip onto Xander's forehead. 

Xander grunted in pain as the waxed seared his skin then cooled. He squinted at Callisto who laughed. 

"There are few things I love," she told Xander. "Inflicting pain is one. Fire is another. Killing, also, is something I love. The power of taking a life." She shivered, smiling. "It's a feeling like no other." 

"What do you want from me?" Xander asked weakly. 

Callisto grinned when Xander shrank away from her touch. She patted his head. "Being a hostage is enough...for now." 

"This is about Buffy...isn't it?" 

"Well, let's give him an award for stating the obvious!" Spike declared. He rolled his eyes a little then looked at Xander. "Of course it's about Buffy, it's always about Buffy! Why would we want you?" He paused for a moment. "Perhaps if we wanted a court jester..." 

"Shh," Callisto said to Spike. She smiled at Xander. "Don't worry," she said. "You won't be alone much longer. You're the bait to bring them here." 

Xander's eyes widened as Callisto paused her fingers in the candle's flame. She removed her finger which instantly healed itself before his eyes. He looked to the grinning Callisto. "Who are you?" he asked in a whisper. 

"Someone your friend's Watcher won't find in his books," she answered. "I'm a very special case." She tossed aside the candle, her smile vanished. "But enough wasting time." The blood drained from Xander's face when Callisto drew her sword. She pointed the sword at him. "Eenie...meanie...miney...mo. Which of his parts has got to go?" 

Xander opened his eyes to see Callisto's sword pointing to his right arm. "Uhhh!" he yelped in panic. He squirmed about in the chains. Buffy, where the hell are you? he wondered. 

Callisto grinned as she took a hold of Xander's right hand. "Now...I won't lie to you," she said to him. "This is gonna hurt...a lot." She used her blade to slice open Xander's palm. He cried out. She let go of him then cut his flannel shirt from his body and used the rag to press into his bloody hand. 

"What are you doing?" Spike inquired as Callisto pulled the shirt from Xander's hand. 

Callisto placed her sword back in the sheath and held up the blood-covered shirt. "I want to mess with her mind," she replied. "What would she do if she thought her little friend was dead?" She snickered. 

Kill us all, Spike thought. 

Callisto shoved the shirt into Spike's hands. "Get your little vampire pals together. We're going to grab her friends." She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "I'll get the Slayer. Never fear." 

"She won't go without a fight," Spike warned her as she walked past him. He half turned. "And she'll be impossible if she believes one of her friends is dead." 

Callisto pulled her hand out of her belt pouch and held up a small handmade dart. "Oh, I have ways of calming down unruly Slayers." She admired her dart with pride. 

Library 

Buffy hung up the phone. She didn't really hang it up, more like slammed it into the cradle, startling Willow. "His parents have no idea what time he left," she said turning to Willow. 

"I'm surprised his parents remembered they even have a son," Willow replied. 

"Where can he be?" Buffy asked. The worry was very apparent on her face as well as Willow's. "People just don't vanish!" 

Willow checked her watch. "The sun set about 10 minutes ago," she said, looking to Buffy. "So it couldn't be a vampire." 

"But there are so many other nasty creatures roaming this town during the day, too, Will," Buffy said. 

"Xander's good at running away," Willow told her. "He wouldn't be dumb enough to confront any monsters. And I'm not really convincing myself of that so how can I be convincing you?" She sighed. "God, Buffy, where is he?" 

Buffy looked over to the table. Giles sat there with his nose stuffed in one of his ancient books. "Giles!" she exclaimed. When her Watcher looked at her, she said, "Xander's Amelia Earharting on us and you're reading!" 

"Oh...yes, Xander's, uh, missing," he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. A puzzled look washed over his face. "Xander's missing?" he asked. 

Buffy tossed up her hands as she came over to the table. "Giles! Hello? It's what we've been discussing for the last twenty minutes." She took a peek at the title of the book in his hands. "And you're too busy reading about Greek Mythologies." 

Giles thumbed through his book. "Yes...something about that headstone of Masters..." He frowned. "It's bothering me." 

Buffy snatched the book from him then thumped it on the table. "Xander's missing and *that* bothers me," she replied. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Forget this, I'm going out to look for him." 

"I'm going with you," Willow firmly added as she joined Buffy on the way out of the library. 

Buffy turned around. She saw Giles about to say something. "You hold down the fort in case he shows up," she said. With that, she and Willow left. 

Outside, Buffy and Willow exited the school. Buffy gave Willow a set of instructions on where to look for Xander, but she was interrupted by a voice yelling, "Hey, Slayer!" She stopped and looked to left to see a vampire, its hands behind its back, and a grin on its demon face. She pushed Willow behind her a little then brought out a stake. 

"Oh, isn't this considerate of you?" she said taking a few steps forward. "You all are just coming right to me. Now I don't have to spend half my night looking for you suckheads before I send you back to Hell." 

The vampire laughed. "Try it, Slayer," it told her. It raised up one of its hands, waved around Xander's ripped and blood stained flannel before throwing it on the ground at Buffy's feet. "We already got one of your friends!" It laughed again. "It's only a matter of time before we get to you!" 

"Xander," Willow whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. She fell to her knees and picked up the shirt. She shook her head. "No!" she wailed, holding the fabric close. "He can't be dead!" 

The vampire cackled as it ran around the corner of the school building. Buffy slowly lifted her gaze from Willow, her eyes narrowing. She gripped her stake so tightly it dug into her palm and drew blood, but Buffy didn't feel it. All she *could* feel was the anger and rage boiling inside. 

"You won't be laughing for long," she snarled then sprinted after the vampire. 

"Buffy, no!" Willow yelled but the Slayer was long gone. She sniffled as she looked back to Xander's shirt. Xander...dead? It...it just couldn't be true! Giles, she thought. Giles will know what to do. 

Clutching the shirt close, Willow got to her feet. She turned around to go back into the school but she walked right into somebody. Her eyes raised up and focused on Spike's grinning face. The shirt slipped out of her hands, fluttering to the ground. She opened her mouth to scream but Spike clamped a hand over it and grabbed her. 

"It's all right, luv," he assured Willow as he looked into the frightened girl's eyes. "I'm not here to kill you." He smiled wider. "At least...not yet." 

Buffy rounded the corner. Her eyes widened slightly as she skidded to a halt. "Oh...this is just great!" She watched the vampires, maybe 15 or so in number, slowly form a large circle around her. She'd stupidly ran into an ambush. 

"What's the matter, Slayer?" asked the vampire who had given her Xander's shirt. It laughed as the vampires closed in. "Are you scared?" 

Buffy hesitated then a smile lit up her face. "Actually...no." 

A puzzled look crossed the vampire's face. When it felt someone tap its shoulder, the vampire turned around to find itself face to face with Angel. "Oh sh--," it grumbled. 

The vampire didn't get to finish the sentence because it was knocked backwards by a punch from Angel. Buffy rammed her stake into the vampire's back and it exploded into ash. 

Callisto, who'd been hiding in the shadows, stopped leaning on the school building. Her grin faded away. 

"What is this?" she said as she watched a new vampire battle the other vampires with the Slayer. The Slayer and her new friend made a good, and lethal, fighting team. They had an interesting rhythm to their style and each seemed able to anticipate the other's moves. She watched as the new vampire grabbed one of the other vampires and backhanded it. 

"Angel!" called Buffy as she tossed her stake over to him. She gave a vamp who advanced on her a high side kick to the throat. "You'll get your turn!" she told it. 

Angel neatly caught the stake, plunged it into the vampire's chest and had it sailing back to Buffy before the dust even settled. 

"Thanks!" Buffy said as she caught the stake by the shaft then whirled around and dusted the vampire she'd kicked in the throat. 

Callisto gritted her teeth as she balled her hands into fists. "This is *not* the plan!" 

Buffy, Angel, and the rest of the vampires still standing, froze when Callisto came floating through the air. She turned a double front somersault before landed a few feet in front of Buffy. She smiled at the surprised expression plastered on the Slayer's face. 

"Nice to meet you face to face, Slayer," Callisto greeted her. 

"Who are you?" Buffy asked as she looked Callisto up and down. 

Callisto took a few steps towards Buffy. "I'm the one who's going to kill you," she evenly replied. 

Buffy scoffed. "I've head that one before, lady," she replied. She drove her stake into Callisto's chest. "What the -?" she gasped when Callisto didn't dust, or even bleed. She looked up to the giggling blonde as she pulled her stake back. 

"Quite a trick, ay?" said Spike's voice. Buffy's heart fell when she saw Spike emerge from the other vampires with Willow as his prisoner. "I found it rather trippy the first time I witnessed it, too," he continued. "Now it's just...neat." 

Buffy glanced over to Angel. The vampire had his eyes flicking from Spike to Callisto. "If you don't let her go, Spike, I'll -" she started. 

"I'm afraid you won't do much of anything," Callisto interrupted. She grabbed Buffy by the wrist, pulled the Slayer closer then jabbed the point of dart she held in her hand into Buffy's neck. 

Buffy wobbled a little as Callisto let her go. Her fingers made their way up to the dart protruding from the side of her neck. She plucked it out. "Uhhhh," she groaned as her world spun around and around. Her stake dropped out of her hand as she collapsed. 

Callisto cackled as two of the vampires picked up the unconscious Slayer's body. Oh, this was much better now! 

"Buffy!" Angel charged for Callisto. 

Callisto glanced over her shoulder. She waited until he was close enough before giving a back kick. Her foot connected violently with the vampire's mid-section. Angel stumbled back and thought he'd heard a few of his ribs snap. No time to wonder about that, though, because he felt his feet get swept out from under him. He lay flat on his back. 

Callisto put a knee on Angel's chest as she kneeled down to him. She drew her sword but never took her eyes off the demon face. She raised an eyebrow. "This presents a rather intriguing question," she said. She put her full weight on Angel, making him groan. "Why would a vampire be protecting a Slayer?" She ran the flat side of her blade down Angel's left cheek. "Hmm?" 

"That's Angelus," Spike answered, coming forward. "The odd man out. Remember, I told you about him?" 

Angel's vampire face melted back into his human one. He glanced over to Callisto's sword then looked up at the warrior. So much hate and pain filled her eyes. 

"The vampire with a soul," she replied to Spike. Disgust swept over her face. "He stinks of guilt." She leaned closer, searching his eyes. "No...this one isn't Xena either." She sat up and drew in a deep breath. "Xena is very close...I can *feel* it. It's so strong near here." She figured it must be the Slayer. Perhaps Spike wasn't lying after all. 

Angel looked past Callisto to Buffy being supported by two vampires. Buffy, he thought, frantically trying to figure a way out of this mess. 

Callisto noticed Angel looking at Buffy. She pressed her sword on his cheek, forcing him to look up at her. "The effects of the Tolmic poison will wear off in time, honey," she sweetly said. "Tolmic poison is hazardous to plain humans, but it only makes a Slayer very, very drunk." She licked her lips. "I want her to be fully awake when I slaughter all her little friends." 

"Would you stop playing with him, Callisto, and kill him, already?" Spike impatiently called. "I'd like to go." 

Callisto punched Angel in the face then rose to her feet. She twirled her sword in her hand but didn't take Angel's head off. Instead, she delivered a fierce kick to his head, successfully knocking him out. "Have a nice nap," she said to Angel then turned to the others. "Let's go." 

"You're not going to finish him off?" Spike said, incredulous. He nodded towards Angel. "He'll only come after us." 

Callisto stopped in front of Spike and took a lock of Willow's hair into her hand. She smiled as she looked into the young girl's eyes, all that terror was there. "Let him come," she said as she let go of Willow's hair. "He won't be any problem." 

Spike cast one final look back to Angel lying on the ground. He shook his head. "Crazy," he muttered then left with everyone else. 

******* 

Angel's eyes slowly opened. He groaned softly as he put a hand to the side of his head. As he pushed himself to his knees, Angel's mind flashed bits of the previous encounter - the fight with the vampires, Callisto, Spike...Buffy. He got to his feet and staggered around to the front of the school building. 

He leaned over and picked up the bloody, shredded flannel shirt then raised up his gaze to the high school. He only hoped they hadn't taken Giles too. 

Giles flipped a few pages in the Greek text then compared the information with that of a different book. He frowned when the two stories matched, but he didn't have long to ponder it. The doors to the library flew open and Angel stumbled in. 

"My God," Giles said as he stood up. He watched Angel stagger over. "What happened to you?" He saw the look on Angel's face. "What's happened?" 

"They have Buffy..." Angel replied. He leaned over, grasping his chest where Callisto had kicked him. "And Willow, too," he added then gritted his teeth. 

"Buffy?" Giles said, alarmed. He grabbed Angel by the coat and pulled him up. "*Who* has Buffy?" he demanded, giving Angel a rough shake. 

"Spike and Drusilla," Angel grumbled as he removed his hand from his chest. He met the Watcher's gaze - fear and anger apparent in the man's eyes. He tossed the flannel on the table. "Xander's. I think they have him, too." 

Giles let go of Angel, a blank expression on his face now. Slowly, he dropped down onto his chair. "Good...God," he whispered, shaking his head. "I-I-I...the girls were concerned earlier when Xander turned up...missing." He paused. "But...I was too engulfed in my...my research." 

Angel placed a hand on the table so he could support himself. "That's not all," he said. Giles looked up to him. "Spike has acquired a new ally. Immortal. He called her 'Callisto'." 

Giles blinked. "Did...did you say an immortal named Callisto?" he asked. 

Angel nodded. "I watched Buffy ram a stake through the woman's chest. No effect." 

Giles grabbed his book. "That's it!" he exclaimed, turning the pages. He stopped when he found what he wanted. "The stone Randall Masters used to make his headstone being destroyed and the appearance of Callisto!" He looked up to Angel. He realized Angel had no idea what he was talking about. "The stone Randall Masters used, it was imported from Greece. A myth about Callisto says Athena enchanted her into a...a block of stone to prevent Callisto from causing anymore trouble." 

"And you think this stone is the same one Masters imported?" Angel said. 

"Why, it must be!" Giles tapped the book. 

"You said she'd been enchanted into this stone," Angel replied. "How did she get out?" 

Giles put the book down. "It doesn't matter how she escaped. The point is, she's out and in league with Spike and Drusilla." He looked at Angel. "And they have Buffy, Willow and Xander as hostages. That only leaves me to ask why? Callisto's only obsession, according to the myths, was Xena. Xena was all she ever cared about." 

"Callisto, she said Xena was near," Angel told Giles. "Said she could sense it." 

"That's impossible!" Giles replied. "Xena, if she ever really existed, is dead." A thoughtful expression came to his face. "Yet if Callisto is real and in Sunnydale then it's safe to assume Xena actually lived." 

"And since she did," Angel said. "She'd most likely have descendants. Maybe that's what she meant. She could believe it's Buffy." He paused. "She had an interest in her." 

"Spike wants to rid the town of Buffy," Giles added. "How do we proceed?" 

Angel shrugged. "She's immortal. Not much you can do against that," he answered. "The only time she was successfully stopped was when Athena trapped her in that stone." 

Giles slapped his hand on the table as an idea popped into his head. "That's how we stop her now," he said. 

******* 

Willow grunted as she struggled with the cuffs Callisto had clamped on her. She sighed, giving up on her struggle, and looked over to Buffy who was chained up next to her. The Slayer's head hung limply, her body slumped down. Grunting, Willow tried once more to pull free of the chains. 

"Anything you're trying to do, I've already tried it," Xander said. Willow looked over to him and he nodded up to the chains he wore. "I've been here longer. I know the score." 

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked. Her eyes drifted up to Xander's sloppily bandaged hand. "How are you doing?" 

"Considering two of the nastiest vampires I've ever had the displeasure of meeting and a complete psycho are holding me hostage, I'm doing pretty damn good, Will," he replied. He nodded towards Buffy. "What's wrong with her?" 

Willow cast a worried gaze over to her friend. "That woman...she put some kind of drug in her," she said then flipped her gaze back to Xander. "She's been like that ever since." 

"Great," Xander sarcastically grumbled. "No Slayer. How do we get out of this mess?" 

Willow frowned. "I don't think there's much Buffy could do against that woman, Xander. I think she's immortal." 

"And you would be right." Callisto, flanked by Spike and Drusilla, came over to the three teen prisoners. She kneeled down in front of Willow. "I *am* immortal. And once I have all of you out of the way, I'll treat Sunnydale to *my* brand of fun." 

"Lady, Buffy's a Slayer," Xander replied. He stiffened when Callisto's cold gaze settled on him. "You kill her, another just comes to replace her." 

Callisto sighed, bored. "She's the only girl in all the world with the skill and strength to fight the vampires blah, blah, blah. She is the Chosen One," she flatly said. "I've heard this before. And, quite frankly, I'm tired of it - Slayers, Watchers, vampires, Hellmouths." 

Willow stared at Callisto, wide eyed. "How do you know about all that?" 

"Years ago, I was just like her," Callisto answered, nodding to Buffy. She raised up her eyes to Spike, enjoying that look of shock on his face. 

"If you were a Slayer, how can you be here now?" Xander asked. "You would have to be dead, or else every one after you couldn't have been called." 

"I never became a Slayer, moron," Callisto snapped at Xander. "I quit." 

"Being a Slayer is a destiny." Willow shook her head. "You can't quit." 

Callisto drew her sword and placed the sharp edge of the blade an inch from Willow's neck. "I *killed* my own Watcher so I could seek revenge on Xena." She narrowed her eyes at them. "Xena was real. It is all *real*, and I intend to keep seeking my revenge on her and everyone around her." 

"But that was thousands of years ago!" Willow replied. She glanced nervously from the blade to Callisto. "Xena is long dead." 

"Yes, you're right." Callisto nodded. "But her bloodline goes on. And it's *very* strong in this village." She rose to her feet and looked at Spike. "But...it's *not* in Buffy." 

Drusilla closed her eyes. "Blood in the lines, blood in the books," she whispered. She put a hand to her forehead, her eyes squeezed shut. "Blood...it's so very close." She looked at Callisto. "I can feel it. It's strong...very strong." 

Callisto smiled upon her prisoners, but slowly, that smile faded. She turned, searching the rest of the room. "Uhhh," she said, her eyes flicking over to Spike. "I've just noticed someone...is...*missing*!" She pointed to the kids with her sword. 

Spike turned to a few of the vamps who'd gone on the kidnap mission with him and Callisto. "Where is the Watcher?" he calmly asked. 

One of the vampires cautiously stepped forward. "Uh...you never said nothing about snatchin' the Watcher, boss," it replied. "You just said the Slayer's friends." 

Spike seized the vampire. "It was *implied*!" he snarled. 

Callisto put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "It's no matter," she coolly told him. "I've seen Buffy's Watcher." She smiled as Spike let go of the vampire. "Taking him *won't* be difficult." 

"I'm sorry," said the vampire. "I'll make it up to you, I swear!" 

"I know you will." Callisto swung her sword around, neatly taking off the vampire's head. She frowned as the dust settled at her feet. "Killing vampires just isn't the same as killing people." She blinked then looked over to Spike. "I *want* the Watcher." 

"G-Giles?" Buffy's voice distantly mumbled. 

Callisto placed her sword in its sheath. "Get some of your undead flunkies together," she told Spike. "We're going after him. And you," she said to Drusilla. "No eating of the prisoners. Fun comes to those who patiently wait." 

******* 

The cement mixer roared to life, startling Angel. He finished pulling the battered green tarp over the rather deep, rectangular hole slated to be a new quad patio. He surveyed the area then slid his gaze to the tarp. It was dark. Callisto probably wouldn't differentiate between the real grass and the tarp until it was too late. 

Giles came around to the back of the truck. "Well done," he said to Angel when he saw the tarp in place. He motioned for Angel to follow then led him to the cab of the cement mixing truck. "All you need to, uh, do...is press this button," he explained pointing to a specific one in the cab. "That will release the cement from the truck." 

Angel made note of the button's location and nodded. "All right." 

Giles closed the cab door. "It will take some time for the cement to...to be ready for use," he added. 

Angel looked up to the rotating portion of the truck that contained the wet cement. "Where did you learn how to operate one of these things anyway?" he asked. 

Giles pushed his glasses up his nose and cleared his throat. "I...uh, I have many skills," he answered. He walked towards the tarp-covered hole with Angel. "If we can just lure her here, this should work." 

Angel had his own doubts though. "I don't know about you acting as the bait," he said. "Callisto is one tough woman." 

"Buffy's, Willow's, and Xander's lives are at stake here," Giles said as he faced Angel. "We must get this woman out of the way at *any* cost. Even...." He paused, sighing. "Even if it means sacrificing myself to do it." 

Angel had to give Giles the credit he deserved. The human was a true hero. "This plan hinges a lot on Callisto coming after you," he said. "What if it doesn't work?" 

Flashes of Callisto and her army destroying a village full of men, women and children filled Giles' mind. He met Angel's gaze and solemnly replied, "Then God help us all." He walked across the lawn and opened up the door to go back inside the school. 

Angel looked down at the tarp. He had a very bad feeling about all this. 

"Uhhh...Angel?" said Giles. 

Angel turned around. Giles held open the door staring inside the school. "Yeah?" 

"This...this, uh, Callisto," he went on, not taking his eyes from inside the building. "Sh-she wouldn't happen to be a...a tall blonde with a fondness for black leather, would she?" 

"Yeah, why?" 

"Oh...because she's headed this way with Spike and about 10 other vampires," Giles replied. He let the door fall shut and waved a hand at Angel. "Get into position. Plans have changed." 

Quickly, Angel climbed into the truck cab. He did the best he could to keep out of sight. Giles looked to the tarp. This was it, the plan either succeeded or it failed. 

The door leading into the quad flew open, forcing Giles to backpedal like mad. He fell to the ground inches from the edge of the tarp and the hole. Callisto smiled as Spike and the other vampires filled the small area of the quad. 

"There you are, you bad little boy!" she declared as she wagged a finger at Giles. "Now...what are you doing out here? Hmm?" 

Spike's eyes traveled up to the rotating cement mixer then down to the tarp that Giles kept glancing back to. He walked over to the tarp, grabbed it and ripped it back, revealing the three foot deep, rectangular hole. 

"Ha!" he said, tossing the tarp aside as he looked at Giles. "Oh, this is right clever of you." He turned to Callisto who was very confused. "He hoped to lead you into this hole so he could dump the cement on you." He nodded to the truck. "Trapping you in a big block of rock once again." 

Callisto's eyes darkened as she gazed upon Giles. "Oh, really?" she hissed. 

"And for that, he would need help," added Spike as he turned around. Angel flung open the driver's side door of the cab, whacking one of the vampires in the head. Game face on, he hopped out of the truck. Spike groaned as he looked back to Callisto. "I told you we should have killed him!" 

******* 

"Giles?" Buffy mumbled as she tried to raise her head up. "Where...are you?" 

Willow shook her head. "Buffy's not looking so good," she quietly said to Xander. 

Xander's eyes remained on Drusilla, though. She'd been eyeing them ever since Callisto and Spike had left. "I'm thinkin' we have more immediate problems on our hands, Will," he said, nodding to Drusilla. Willow turned her attention to the vampire. "She's been lookin' at us like we're the last hamburgers on the face of the planet and she's havin' a Big Mac attack." 

Drusilla smiled innocently as she approached them. "You shouldn't be so sad," she told them. "Soon...everyone will be here and we'll have a party." 

Xander shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not really in the party mood," he said. "Why don't you try me next week?" 

Drusilla took one of her hands from behind her back. Clutched between her slender fingers was a dart similar to the one Callisto used on Buffy. "We'll make it a slumber party, then," she replied. She shoved the poison tipped dart in Willow's face. "One little prick....and you'll fall asleep." 

Willow pressed herself back against the wall, trying to keep away from the dart. "Don't she pleaded. "Please." 

Drusilla laughed. "Don't you want to try it?" 

Buffy's head raised up as she yanked her arms free from the chains. She looked at Drusilla. "We were always told to just say no," she said then kicked Drusilla in the face, knocking the vampire flat on her back. 

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, surprised and relieved. 

Buffy got to her feet. "I'll take that," she said, snatching the dart out of Drusilla's hand. She pulled Drusilla to her feet. "Night night," she sweetly added then banged Drusilla's head on the edge of the mantle, putting her out like a light. 

"Great job!" Xander said as Buffy grabbed his cuffs. He winced when Buffy pulled the cuffs apart, freeing him. "Excellent job," he added, rubbing his wrists. 

"Buffy, you're coherent!" Willow said after Buffy freed her from the chains. "Two seconds ago you were moaning and blathering." 

"I faked it. Mostly," Buffy replied. She gave her friends a small push to get them moving. "Let's get out of here before reinforcements arrive." 

"You faked it?" Xander said as the three fled the mansion. 

"Obviously Callisto forgot that a Slayer bounces back faster than normal people," Buffy replied. "I've been fine since she and Spike chained us up. We gotta hurry. Giles is in danger." She slowed down in her running, steadying herself. The effects of the Tolmic poison hadn't fully worn off. 

"Callisto only wants to kidnap him, not kill him," Xander said. "Not yet, at least." 

"And she's immortal, Buffy," Willow added. "How do we stop someone like that?" 

Buffy stared at the dart lying in the palm of her hand. "I haven't figured that part out yet," she answered then clamped her hand into a fist. "Let's go!" 

******* 

Angel was knocked to the ground by one of the three vampires who jumped him. He shook his head then spotted a shovel just within his reach. 

"Time to go back to Hell," one of the vampires said as he looked down at Angel. 

"I'm not quite ready to visit there again," Angel told him then grabbed the shovel. He swept the vampire's feet out from under it. Not slowing in his momentum, Angel brought the shovel around and used it to behead the vampire. 

Giles looked from Angel fighting the vampires with the shovel up to Callisto. The woman was distracted by the fight, as was Spike. He crawled across the grass then picked up another shovel. He got to his feet, crept up behind Callisto then struck the warrior across the back with it. 

Callisto fell forward to her hands and knees with a thud. Her head whipped around, her eyes flashed when she saw Giles holding a shovel in both his hands. "Oh, well, *this* is interesting," she said as she drew her sword. "The little geeky Watcher is trying to fight back." 

Giles attempted to hit Callisto again but she sliced the shovel handle in half with her sword. Only the stick portion remained in Giles' left hand. 

Angel whacked another vampire upside the head with the shovel before beheading it. He turned to see Spike heading his way. "Nice to see you again," he greeted his once upon a time friend. "Kidnap anymore helpless little girls tonight, Spike?" 

"No, but you're next on my list, Angelus," Spike replied. He blocked the shovel when Angel swung it at him. He kicked Angel in the gut and held onto the shovel. 

Angel stumbled backwards, losing his weapon. He slammed up against the cab door of the truck then looked to Spike. "You remembered that move, huh?" he said then chuckled. 

Spike tossed the shovel away. "There are a few other things I remember as well, Angelus," he said, coming towards Angel. "Let's start with your betrayal, shall we?" 

Callisto grabbed the stick in her left hand when Giles tried to hit her. She yanked it out of the Watcher's hands then struck him across the face with it. Giles fell to the ground, clutching the left side of his jaw. He felt the warmness of his own blood on his fingers. Groaning, he attempted to push himself to his knees. 

Callisto tossed away the stick, her eyes narrowing at Giles. She seized him by the jacket and pulled him towards her. "You're just lucky I want you alive," she snarled then placed her sword to his throat. "Or else I'd slash you apart for that stupid stunt you tried to pull. Nobody is putting me back in any rock! Nobody!" 

Spike punched Angel in the face then looked over to Callisto. The woman had her sword to the Watcher's throat. He sighed then shoved Angel over to a few of his thugs. "Hold him," he said. "I'm not finished yet." 

Angel had no strength left to fight. His vampire face faded back into his human one. He relied upon the two vampires for support. Weakly, he raised up his head. Callisto had Giles at swordpoint, and she was very pissed off at him. 

Giles, panting from the fight, lifted his eyes up to meet Callisto's. He saw her eyes widen as she stared into his. She shook her head, then whispered, "*Xena*!" 

Spike looked from Giles to Callisto. "*Him*?" he asked, pointing to Giles. "*He* is the direct descendant of *Xena*?" 

"Earlier, when I sensed her near," Callisto whispered, her eyes never leaving Giles'. "I thought it was the Slayer, but no. It was...*him*." She lowered her sword and glanced at Spike. "He's much more than her descendant." She pulled Giles closer. "He carries her *soul*!" She raised an eyebrow at the Watcher. "You run from a naughty past too, don't you? And you feel fighting evil absolves you of all the bad you've done...just like Xena." 

Callisto was more insane than Giles originally thought. Carrying Xena's soul, indeed. What sort of nonsense was that? 

Giles winced at the throbbing pain in his jaw. He gasped and closed his eyes. "Why don't you...just kill me?" he whispered then opened his eyes. "And...and get it over with, ay?" 

Callisto giggled as she let go of Giles. Her fingers lightly caressed his forehead. "Oh, no, I'm not going to kill you," she gently replied. She leaned closer to him. "I want you to watch your Slayer and everyone you care about *die*! Then you will be witness to me leveling this pathetic village to the ground, just like Xena did to mine!" She stood straight. "You'll have a front row seat to oblivion!" 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Callisto," Buffy's voice echoed through the quad. Callisto whirled around to see Buffy, Willow and Xander. "You still have *us* to deal with," Buffy finished as she pulled out a stake from behind her back. 

Callisto's face scrunched up in disbelief as the Slayer and her friends launched into an attack on the remaining vampires. "No!" she screamed. "No! No! No! This is not supposed to happen!" 

Giles turned over and started to crawl away from Callisto. He grunted when his right arm gave out and he hit the ground. Callisto whirled around to see Giles trying to escape. 

"Oh, no, you don't!" she yelled, grabbing the Watcher by the collar of his coat. "You're staying with me!" She pulled Giles up to his feet. 

Spike backed away from the others. Callisto completely disregarded the fact that the Slayer was free. All her hate had moved its focus to Giles. Things were definitely not going the way he'd hoped. 

Buffy staked one of the vampires holding Angel then kicked the other one in the side. "Angel," she said, catching hold of his arm. "You all right?" she asked. 

Angel coughed as he stood on his own. "Took your time getting here, didn't you?" 

Buffy kicked a vampire that charged them. It stumbled backwards, Willow tripped it then Xander plunged a stake in its heart before it knew what hit it. "Sorry," Buffy said, looking back to Angel. "I was kinda drugged and chained up." 

Callisto pulled Giles next to her. Leaning up to his ear from behind, she hissed, "Take a good look." She pointed to Buffy with her sword. "It's the last time she'll resemble a human being." She cackled with wicked glee. "By the gods, I haven't felt this alive in *years*!" 

"What's going on here?" Buffy asked Angel. She paused while he punched one of the vamps, sending it reeling backwards. 

Angel looked at her. "Giles and I had a plan to trap Callisto," he replied. He pointed to the hole. "We have to get her in there." 

"She won't go willingly," Buffy said. She whirled around and staked one of the vamps as it tried to sneak up on her. "And she's got Giles." 

Xander landed on the ground with a thud. He looked up to Buffy and Angel. "If you're gonna do something, please, do it now!" He scrambled to his feet and rejoined Willow. 

Callisto dragged Giles over to Spike. Spike rolled his eyes. "You do realize you're forgetting about the Slayer?" he said, making a motion to Buffy locked in battle. 

"Would you shut up about her? You're obsessed," she snapped. 

Spike snorted as he looked from Giles to Callisto. "You're one to bloody talk," he said. "If you don't dispose of the Slayer, she'll destroy you. You have her Watcher, that only pisses her off!" 

Callisto's eyes darkened. "I'll show you who is in control here!" she yelled at Spike. She forced Giles to his knees then positioned herself in front of him. Giles looked up to Callisto who stared down upon him. "I've won this time, Xena!" she screamed at him. "I have *won*!" She raised up her sword. 

Buffy shoved her stake into the heart of the last vampire then whirled around to see Callisto push Giles to his knees. 

"Oh, no!" Willow cried out. "Giles!" 

Buffy slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the Tolmic poison tipped dart. "One chance," she said then looked over to Callisto. The woman raised up her sword. Expertly, Buffy hurled the dart at Callisto. 

Callisto jerked when she felt the sting of something in the middle of her back. Her eyes left Giles as she lowered her sword. Slowly, she reached behind her and plucked out the dart. "Poison," she grumbled. She blinked a few times as the poison began to take effect. 

Giles scrambled to his feet. He watched Callisto stumble around as the poison made its way through her body. Obviously whatever the dart contained, Callisto wasn't immune to the effects of it. 

Callisto focused on Giles standing in front of her. She reached out a hand as she took hesitant steps towards him. "No..." she groaned. "I won't let Xena defeat me again!" She gripped her sword in both hands. "Why don't you just die?" 

Giles grabbed Callisto's wrists, stopping her sword before it came down on him. He pushed her as hard as he could, sending her stumbling backwards. Callisto screamed as she tumbled into the massive hole. 

Spike peered into the pit. Callisto struggled to get up. "Help me!" she called out, reaching up a hand to him. 

He glanced over to Buffy and the others then looked back down to Callisto. "Sorry. This is the part where I cut my losses and run," he replied. 

"You bastard!" Callisto screamed. 

Buffy just let Spike go. She could kick his sorry ass anytime. Instead of chasing him, she and the others joined Giles by the edge of the hole. "Giles, are you ok?" she asked. 

"You!" Callisto breathed heavily. Giles looked down on her. "You will never stop me! Do you hear? Never! I'll enjoy tearing you apart, descendant of Xena! I'll destroy your soul!" 

"Descendant?" Xander said as he looked over to Giles. 

"Angel, do it!" Buffy yelled. 

Callisto raised up her eyes as the wet cement began to pour out of the truck. She screamed as she attempted to shield herself from the onslaught of cement with her arms. "No! Not again! Nooooo!" she cried. 

In a matter of minutes the hole was filled and Callisto was gone. 

Angel hopped out of the truck cab and joined the others. It had worked. Callisto was trapped once again. 

When Giles only stared at the wet cement, Buffy placed a hand on her Watcher's arm. "Hey, Giles, are you all right?" 

"Y-y-yes...I-I....," he quietly said. His brow furrowed, but his eyes remained affixed to the cement. "I can't help but feel...sympathy for her. It's...rather strange." He looked to the others. "Sympathy for the...the child who lost everything, that is. Xena changed everything for her. 

"Well, that may be, Giles," Buffy said. "But Callisto the adult was whacko. I mean, she tried to kill you!" She glared at the drying cement. "She can stay in that hole forever for all I care." 

Giles nodded. Buffy was right. Still, a small part of him - deep inside - felt guilt about the misfortunes of the girl. He didn't know why. "Quite right," he softly replied. He paused then shifted his gaze over to Xander who just stared at him. 

Xander pointed a finger at Giles. "*You're* related to Xena?" he asked. He grinned, excited. "Oh man, this is so cool! I can't wait to tell my cousin Rigby!" 

"Xander, if you place any value on your life, you'll never breathe a word of this to anyone not present," Giles evenly said. 

Xander's grin disappeared. "Geez," he muttered. "I can't think this is cool?" He shoved his hands in his jeans pockets as the others headed back into the school. "Hey!" he called as he ran to catch up with them. "Just see if you can do the battle yell, Giles? Please? I swear, I won't ask you *ever* again!" 

The End...or is it? 


End file.
